Pat Haines has a secret hidden behind her Temperance home that she is finally ready to share with her neighbors.

“It’s my secret garden,” she said, smiling as she looked out over the landscape it has taken her 15 years to perfect. Her yard is one of six selected to be on the Bedford Flower and Garden Club’s 18th annual Garden Tour, scheduled for July 12.

She’s ready to show off her handiwork.

“I’ve kept it a secret long enough.”

When she first moved into her house in the 1100 block of Birchwood Dr., there was only a rusty chain-link fence around the backyard. Over time, Ms. Haines has transformed the yard into a lush, shady outdoor living space complete with a fountain, patio and shed.

“I wanted an indoor-outdoor feel — so that you could come outside but still feel comfortable like you were in the house,” she said. “All I need is a lake and it would be the perfect lake house.”

It has taken Ms. Haines years and countless rounds of trial and error to perfect her secret garden.

She’s never had professional training in gardening or landscape design. She’s not a member of the Bedford Flower and Garden Club and this will be the first time she participates in the club’s garden tour. But plants and flowers always have held her interest. She said flowers and plants were the subject of many of her projects when she was a schoolgirl.

Now, it’s a hobby that takes creativity but not too much work “once you get it organized and if you stay on top of it” she said. Some things have stuck around while others have died away.

The bright, white fence that replaced the old metal one stretches high above rows and rows of hosta and coral bells. Over the years, she has added a fountain, a brick patio and refurbished furniture. Hemlock trees line the sides of the garden, blocking the sun and creating a quiet and calm setting.

“You just go around and buy what you like. Then you just make it your own.”

Ms. Haines’ garden is filled with mostly perennials and very few annuals. Having the same plants reappear in the same spot each year is a pattern that lends itself well to her busy schedule, she said. Despite the consistency, the perennial garden in constantly yielding a different view each week.

“Everything changes week by week,” Ms. Haines said. “Last week, everything was white. The week before that, it was purple. This week we have more reds and by the time the tour starts, we will probably have lots of yellows.”

Speckled all around the garden are decorations that carry stories from Ms. Haines’ life.

The patio table is roughly 50 years old and was a gift from her mother.

The frogs that decorate the area around her fountain were from various family members who “decided I needed to be a frog collector.”

There is one robin, she said, that dictates what other birds are allowed to use the bird bath, she said. There are pieces of outdoor artwork that were given to her by the artist after his display fell over on top of her.

As she looks around the yard, there is a gleam of accomplishment in her eyes. During the tour she hopes people will just come to visit, enjoy the shade and heed her message that a garden can be anything the gardener imagines.

“It’s been really fun to do,” Ms. Haines said. “I hope people enjoy it as much as I do.”